It’s a bird, it’s a plane, nope, it’s just the beginning of another marathon!
Screenplay By: Joe Piscatella, Adam Rifkin, & Craig A. Williams
Directed By: Frederik Du Chau
I have no prior connection to Underdog in its cartoon form, but my daughter loves the movie so I gladly set upon watching the film. I didn’t know what to expect from Underdog, but I am pleased to say that while the film was not a total success it was an enjoyable experience. It’s not the smartest of films, but it’s not really aiming for smarts. I found Underdog to a film looking for laughs, which meant that some hit and some didn’t.
Saying that comedy is subjective is like saying film is subjective. Either statement is redundant, even if I may be guilty of parlaying in the redundancies of saying one or the other from time to time. I can fully understand why some people would come away from Underdog less than pleased with what they experienced. Frederik Du Chau’s film sure does throw a heck of a lot of jokes against the wall. More miss than hit, and if that was a huge problem for people I fully respect that. I enjoyed the jokes that did hit, and it helped that the dog is as cute as all get out. There was enough funny in Underdog for me to enjoy what I was watching even if I didn’t absolutely love the film.
The CG was surprisingly not bad, it wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad. The story was formulaic, but for what it was it worked. That about sums up Underdog in a nutshell, it’s not bad, it’s not good, but for what it was it worked. The film honestly did not leave me with a whole lot to complain about, other than some of the jokes missing and the general formulaic nature of the story.
Underdog isn’t a film that I would ever dream of using as an example of great or terrible cinema. It’s a mass marketed Hollywood film for a specific audience. That audience is my five year old daughter and she eats up the majority of Underdog like it’s candy. The film really appealed to her sensibilities, that’s another reason why for as much as the film didn’t completely work for me I don’t have a lot of bad things to say about the film. I am not this movies target audience, but I did manage to get a modicum of enjoyment out of Underdog. My daughter had a great time with Underdog, I enjoyed myself, and that is pretty darn spiffy for the type of film that is Underdog.
Rating:
**1/2
Cheers,
Bill
Bill's Movie Emporium 